


Untitled Eel Fic

by worldstealers



Category: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Other, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 05:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18440195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldstealers/pseuds/worldstealers
Summary: Jetsam contemplates a forbidden love





	Untitled Eel Fic

The early morning rays of sunlight filtered weakly through the water as Jetsam slipped quickly through the currents. He felt odd being out alone, used as he was to the comforting presence of his brother at his side. But Flotsam lay asleep in their usual spot in Ursula’s lair, nestled between two skeletal ribs of the monstrous Serpentine, and it was Jetsam alone who skirted the corral reef, making his way quietly to the royal stables. As he approached he could hear the dolphins inside shifting nervously in their stalls, perhaps sensing an unfamiliar presence. Jetsam knew he had to stay hidden. The creatures of Triton’s kingdom knew him well, and knew the power he represented. But for once he wasn’t here to collect on a debt for the sea witch. He glided silently behind a clump of kelp and waited. 

He heard her coming before he saw her. She swam easily, humming a folk song in her low, raspy voice, a tune about a merman who lost his love to a to a fish n’ chips shack and haunted the waves forevermore, seeking revenge on all shore-side fast food. It was a sweet, sad tune, one that Alana sang often in her morning trips to the stable. Jetsam liked it. More than once lately he had caught himself singing it under his breath as he tended Ursula’s garden of captive souls. 

But when the poor Merman reached her he cried  
For there she lay dead, her tail battered and fried  
And he knew that his life evermore – o  
Would be trashing restaurants by the shore - o

Jetsam slid closer to Alana, only half bothering to keep himself concealed in the bed of kelp. She was feeding Crusher, the king’s favorite steed. The dolphin pressed its bottlenose into her palm, looking for an extra snack and Alana smiled at the dolphin, stroking its dorsal fin and humming. She smelled warm-blooded, a repulsive, sticky smell. She wouldn’t be his first choice on a hunt. But there was something in her low voice that drew him on. It was so different from the flutey soprano of the king’s youngest child, whom Jetsam had spent far too much time spying on of late. 

'JETTTSSSSSSAMMMMM'

Flotsam’s voice cut across his thoughts, the sibilant sss sharp though their connection was weak at this distance. Jetsam realized with horror how long he’d been away. He wasn’t one to wander and he knew that being in the Sea Witch’s employ meant being at her beck and call. She might not have noticed his absence but his brother was surely worried she would. He jackknifed out of the shelter of the kelp and swam swiftly but silently away from the stables. He chanced a glance back and saw Alana’s face turned in his direction. But he had no time to look more closely and he wondered what she had seen as he shot towards Ursula’s dark caves at the border of Triton’s kingdom. 

'Where have you been,' hissed Flotsam as Jetsam swam into the cave. Jetsam heard the voice directly in his head. He and his brother tended to communicate telepathically when it was just the two of them, particularly if Ursula was asleep. The boss was touchy at the best of times and certainly didn’t like to be awakened by chattering eels. 

'I couldn’t sssleep. I went for a sssswim.' 

'You fool! What if Urssssula had woken up and needed ussss? What if ssssome Merman had caught you alone and deccccided your head would make a fine gift for King Triton?' 

'None of that happened, did it? I sssstayed out of the king’s territory.' 

'Did you?' Flotsam demanded, body twining around his brother’s so that their faces were pulled close to each other and their eyes, one white, one sickly, glowing yellow, were centimeters apart. 'Becaussssse you sssssmell like mermaid. And' – he paused, sniffing at his brother – 'DOLPHIN.' At this, Flotsam released Jetsam suddenly and swam across the cave in disgust. 

'Can I help it if thossse creaturesss are everywhere thessse dayssss? You know what Ursssula sssaysss. King Triton won’t sssstop until he’sss conquered the whole ssssea. They’re alwaysss crossing the borderssss now. Jusssst the other day one sssswam right up to the mouth of thisss cave, shaking a ssspear like he wasss a merman inssstead of ssssome ssscrap of a merboy who had losssst a bet.' 

Flotsam chuckled at this, no doubt remembering how they had sprung out the mouth of the cave at the boy, hissing and gnashing their teeth as he dropped his brave face, turned tail, and swam. Then he looked suddenly serious, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

'It’sss not jussst that. The other day I heard you humming. A mersong.' 

Jetsam could feel his brother’s disgust but he did his best approximation of a shoulderless shrug. 'We’ve ssspent sssso much time watching that child. She’ssss alwaysss sssinging. It getssss caught in my brain.' 

Flotsam stared at him for a few moments longer, then seemed to accept this. After all, they had spent countless hours over the last few days watching the little ginger sing and play with her odd toys and moon over her be-legged atrocity of a prince. Flotsam and Jetsam agreed that humans were an even bigger evolutionary mistake than merpeople. Imagine having scrawny legs AND useless little arms! Jetsam had snuck close to a beach and watched humans try to swim once. It was funny in a revolting way, like a fish that survived being snapped up by his second jaw long enough to still be crying in his gullet. 

“BOOOOOOYS!”

The witch’s deep, unctuous voice rang out over the sea floor, cutting off any reply Flotsam might have made. The eels glanced at each other, then swam swiftly toward the Serpentine’s skeletal mouth, where they knew they’d find their boss lounging near her cauldron. She was sure to have some nefarious errand in mind and it wouldn’t do to keep her waiting. 

 

Three days later in the early morning dark Jetsam found himself once again swimming alone, darting in and out of the crevices formed by the seafloor rocks. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t enter Triton’s territory again. Ursula had set her plan in motion and it wouldn’t do to risk capture at this point. He and Flotsam had enticed the child to the witch’s lair where she had foolishly signed a contract, exchanging her voice for a temporary pair of legs. Jetsam felt no pity for her. It was such a silly, mermish fancy to gamble your soul against some ephemeral idea of happiness. Older, wiser merpeople than she had tried it and ended up the sickly creatures that wasted away in Ursula’s garden. And yet a tiny, niggling part of him wondered what it was that drove these idiots to pursue their dreams so blindly, to ignore their better instincts and seek something they couldn’t even guarantee existed. It was with this in mind that he had flipped the prince’s rowboat with particular viciousness, earning him an admiring look from his brother and praise from Ursula herself. He was no merman. He wouldn’t let these thoughts distract him. 

Jetsam looked around, startled to find himself back at the stables. He turned quickly to leave and found himself face to face with Alana. She hovered above the seafloor, hand on her hip, tail flicking back and forth in irritation. He froze, surprised. She wasn’t afraid of him. She was angry.

“You work for the sea witch,” she said, speaking as low and musically as she sang. “Where is my sister? What has Ursula done to Ariel?”

Jetsam was stunned. He had expected that the merpeople would notice Ariel’s absence, but he hadn’t thought anyone would connect the dots so quickly. What did Alana know? Had she told Triton?

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re sssspeaking of,” he hissed. He tried to slip around her but she moved quickly, blocking her path. 

“Daddy thinks she’s run away but I think he’s wrong. I’ve seen you and the other one following her. And I’ve seen you hanging around here. You’re not as subtle as you think you are. So tell me where she is or I’ll shove your pointy face into an anemone until you feel like talking.”

Jetsam couldn’t help but admire her cold fury. For the disgusting, spoiled progeny of the Sea King she was almost lovely, casually running her finger along the edge of a blade that he knew was used to cut harnesses, but which he imagined would cut him as well. There was something about her that reminded him of Ursula and he didn’t doubt that she would used the knife if she had to.

“Ariel isss fine,” he said smoothly. “The sea witch is just helping her. She’s given the child legsss and sent her ashore to woo her prince. It’sss true love. Surely you would’t ssstand in the way of true love?”

Alana hesitated. Jetsam saw his opportunity and pressed on.

“You know your sisssster, poor, ssweet child, never fitting in the way she should. Thissss is her chance to be happy. If he falls in love she keepssss the legsss. If not she returnsss to the sssea. Win win.”

Alana though about this, not convinced yet but swaying.

“Ursula won’t harm her?”

“Never! Urssula is sssso misssssunderssstood. She only wantsss to help. Perhapsss win back your father’ssss favor, end her exxxxile.”

Alana smiled tightly at this. “He won’t thank her for sending his daughter to live with humans.”

“She’sss not alone you know. The crab and the fish are with her.”

“Sebastian and Flounder?” Alana’s face softened. “Well, Sebastian will take good care of her anyway. Daddy would kill him if he didn’t.”

“That’ssss right. She’ll be fine.”

Jetsam turned to leave but Alana continued to block his path, suspicion still on her face. 

“What about you? Why have you been hanging around the stables? You scare the dolphins you know.”

“I’ve been lissstening to you sssing,” Jetsam answered truthfully, the words leaving his two sets of jaws before he could stop them. “You have a beautiful voice.”

This seemed to throw Alana. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jetsam cocked his head to the side, looking at her with his sickly yellow eye. “Nothing. I jussst like it. I don’t like human voices usually. Your sssister’sss isss ear ssssplitting. But yoursss is… nice. It remindsss me of… sssomething.”

Jetsam was surprised at his own confession. He hadn’t realized until he said it that Alana’s voice had sounded familiar, something from before his conscious memory, perhaps from before he had even hatched. Ursula had been the closest thing to a mother he and Flotsam had known. Surely she had never sung to them. 

Alana laughed, breaking through his reverie. “If you’re suggesting that I sing like an eel, I think you and Sebastian might get along quite well. I can’t say much for your taste if my voice is the one you like, but I guess I’ll take the compliment.” 

Alana was looking at him with amusement. He had never seen a mermaid look at him with anything but disgust. He wasn’t sure he liked it. “I’d better go. I’ll be needed.”

“Of course.” She moved aside to let him pass, but as he started to swim away she called to him one last time.

“You’ll tell me if Ariel is in any real trouble, right?”

He lied to her without looking back. “Of courssssse.”

 

The visit with the mermaid troubled him more than he cared to admit. It wasn’t the lies about her sister. Jetsam was far too experienced a liar to think too hard on that. It was the strange feeling she gave him, as if his life could have been something more than serving as Ursula’s lackey. She had looked at him with laughter in her eyes, as if they were friends who were sharing a joke. She was so secure in the love of her sisters and her father. He wondered if there had been a time when he had felt like that. He wondered what would have happened if there had been someone to teach him how to sing. 

 

The last time he saw her the laughter had been replaced by fury. Ariel’s excursion to dry land had gone exactly as the sea witch predicted, and now she was planning to leverage Ariel’s soul for Triton’s. Once he was out of the way the attack on Atlantica would begin. Jetsam hadn’t felt guilty about the fate of the merpeople. They had never treated him kindly and they would get what they deserved. But he found the thought of a world without her voice unacceptable, and he had come to find her, to convince her to flee. He could keep her safe. Ursula need never know. 

Alana didn’t need his warning. She knew she had been tricked and she and her sisters were preparing to defend Atlantica. She hadn’t even listened to his pleas, but had chased him out of the castle with a spear in her hand, and he had felt it knick his fin as he fled into the open sea. She would have pursued him further, he thought, if she hadn’t felt bound to help her sisters. He swam back to the sea witch. The battle lines had been drawn long ago. 

The final battle was brief and furious. He and Flotsam were the first to fall. But as the bolt from the trident struck him down he could’ve sworn he heard a song about a fair mermaid, lost forever, and saw two eyes full of laughter and warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked the story and want to hear it dramatically read aloud, check out our podcast, World Stealers, on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you choose to listen!
> 
> https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/worldstealers


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